Selena Quintanilla’s Teenage Voice Is Aged Up By AI For Posthumous Album

Fans of Selena Quintanilla can look forward to a new album soon, despite the fact that the Tejano singer passed away 27 years ago this month.

How? Well, Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, revealed in a recent Facebook Live interview that the forthcoming release will comprise 13 songs—10 of which are older remixes, and three never-before-released tracks.

According to Input, the album is being produced by Selena’s brother AB Quintanilla, who used computer software to artificially age her teen voice from the earlier years of her career. 

“My son worked on Selena’s voice with the computers, and if you listen to it, she sounds on [the] recordings like she did right before she passed away,” remarked Abraham Quintanilla. 

This could prove to be controversial, as the family has been repeatedly accused of profiting off Selena’s undying legacy. Longtime fans of the singer may not appreciate that her voice has been digitally altered for the new release. 

Will this album go the way of Anthony Bourdain’s documentary that saw the late chef’s voice reproduced by artificial intelligence (AI)? Or will fans be happy to hear their favorite songbird’s voice again?

[via Input and NPR, cover image via David Pillow | Dreamstime.com]